Sayed Jafar Naderi (born 1965) is an ethnic
Hazara-
Ismaili who controlled
Baghlan Province of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
during the early 1990s.
[Afghanistan Biographien I – J](_blank)
Accessed 17 August 2006 He was born in
Kayan, Baghlan
Kayan is a village in Baghlan Province in north eastern Afghanistan. It is located in the valley of Kayan, some 30 kilometres west of Dushi. The residents of Kayan valley are mostly members of Sadat and Hazara tribes. The Sayyids follow Shi´a ...
and is also known as
Sayyid-e Kayan The son of
Sayed Mansoor Naderi, The previous Vice-President of Afghanistan, Sayed Jafar Naderi went to school in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at age 10, after his father was made a political prisoner. He was sent to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
at age 13 where he became known as Jeff Naderi.
Biography
Prior to his father calling him back to
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, he lived in
Allentown, Pennsylvania, played drums in a
heavy metal band and was an athlete.
According to ''
The World's Most Dangerous Places
''The World's Most Dangerous Places'' is handbook of survival tactics for high-risk regions first published in 1994, written by National Geographic Adventure columnist Robert Young Pelton and his contributors. The fifth edition was published in 20 ...
'', Jafar was rich when he returned to Afghanistan. He is considered one of the country's most brutal and notorious warlords.
He was quoted in ''The World's Most Dangerous Places'' as saying that he came to help the people of Baghlan, and the rest of the country. He risked his life to help his people, inspired by his father and grandfather who helped protect Afghanistan.
During the
Soviet occupation of Afghanistan
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
Jafar became Baghlan's MP. His army fought the Soviets, producing a stream of refugees who fled to Pakistan. Few returned until after the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
government fell.
The
80th Division (Afghanistan) was reportedly formed from tribal militia in the second half of the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Sovie ...
. In 1989 it was the major formation in
Baghlan Province, under Jafar's command, then 25 years old.
Jafar was the subject of the 1989 documentary "
Warlord of Kayan" produced and directed by
Jeff B. Harmon.
The film won the Golden Gate Award at the
San Francisco International Film Festival
The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in i ...
.
Family political background
Sayed Jafar Naderi comes from a highly political family background. His father
Sayed Mansur Naderi
Sayed Mansur Naderi is a leader (Sayed of Kayan) of a Hazara-Ismaili Shi'a community centred in Baghlan Province of Afghanistan. Like other Ismaili communities in Afghanistan and worldwide, the Baghlan Ismailis do submit to the spiritual leader o ...
has been both the religious and political leader of Afghan Ismaili sector in the past 50 years. Jafar's younger brother
Sadat Mansoor Naderi
Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi ( prs, سید سعادت منصور نادری) (born 3 March 1977) is an entrepreneur and politician. He was Afghanistan's State Minister of Peace from 2020 to 2021 and Minister of Urban Development and Housing from 2 ...
who is a business person has been nominated for the post of Urban Development Minister by the president
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.
Born in ...
. Sayed Jafar's younger sister
Farkhunda Zahra Naderi is a member of Afghan Parliament and a well-known rights activist in the country. His one cousin
Sayed Dawood Naderi is another parliamentarian elected from
Kunduz
, native_name_lang = prs
, other_name =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline = Kunduz River valley.jpg
, imagesize = 300
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, image_ ...
province of Afghanistan.
Jafar himself was appointed as security advisor to first vice president
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum ( ; prs, عبدالرشید دوستم; Uzbek Latin: , Uzbek Cyrillic: , ; born 25 March 1954) is an Afghan exiled politician, former Marshal in the Afghan National Army, founder and leader of the political party Junbish- ...
.
See also
*
Sayed Mansur Naderi
Sayed Mansur Naderi is a leader (Sayed of Kayan) of a Hazara-Ismaili Shi'a community centred in Baghlan Province of Afghanistan. Like other Ismaili communities in Afghanistan and worldwide, the Baghlan Ismailis do submit to the spiritual leader o ...
*
Sadat Mansoor Naderi
Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi ( prs, سید سعادت منصور نادری) (born 3 March 1977) is an entrepreneur and politician. He was Afghanistan's State Minister of Peace from 2020 to 2021 and Minister of Urban Development and Housing from 2 ...
*
Farkhunda Zahra Naderi
*
Sayed Kayan Sayed Kayan or Sayed of Kayan is a position of leadership amongst the Ismaili community in Afghanistan. The Ismaili community in Afghanistan is led by a family of ''Sayed''s (descendants of the Islamic prophet Mohammed) hailing from the village of ...
Footnotes
External links
Website devoted to NaderiAfghan Ismailis Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naderi, Sayed Jafar
Afghan Ismailis
1965 births
Living people
Governors of Baghlan Province
Hazara politicians
20th-century Ismailis
21st-century Ismailis